November, Samuel's birthday, Thanksgiving

Joseph eating his cowboy burger from "Seven Brothers"

Girls game night!

Malachi giving me a flower

Malachi wanted to hug the trees to tell them thank you for all that they do for us

Samuel won a basketball at Dave and Busters for his birthday party

Blowing out his candles!

Our Hawaiian Christmas Tree!

November was a busy month, Travis was gone until the day before Thanksgiving, and Gideon was sick with a cold for most of the month too, and I started getting the cold the week of Thanksgiving.  We didn't have a lot of exciting events in November, mostly because I didn't go anywhere fun, since Gideon was coughing so much. I did go to the temple the first weekend in November, and took Joseph with me.  He went to the Polynesian Cultural Center while I did an endowment session, and then we went to Costco.  While we were driving we listened to a John Bythway talk entitled "Peace In Christ" that was really good.  I went to a Girls night out game night, and Austin and Betsy wanted to have a game night, so they invited all the YW over for a game night, and they had a blast!   Samuel had his birthday on the 17th and turned 12.  I took him and his best friend Carson to Dave and Busters for his birthday party.  They had a blast, and I had fun too, since we didn't bring along any little boys.  We had dentist appointments for the younger four boys, and I was happy (although a little surprised) that no one had any cavities!  I've also struggled a lot with trying to get Joseph up for seminary and school, and he has only attended school a couple days out of the whole month, all he wants to do is sleep!  The doctors just think he is depressed and referred us to behavioral health, and we're actually in the process of getting Joseph out of high school, and getting him registered with a GED prep program.  They tested him at an above 12th grade level in Math and Reading, so they don't think it will take him long to get his GED, although there prep classes don't even start up again until January.  Joseph should be out of high school by the end of the week, and then he is going to get a job, study for a driver's test, and study for his GED tests.  He also has upcoming doctor appointments to figure out why he sleeps so much!  We invited a couple of our ministering families over for dinner a couple weeks before Thanksgiving and had a good meal, but was a little crazy with all the little kids.  We ended up inviting one of them over for Thanksgiving dinner and had a good feast.  I figured out I spent 20 hours in the kitchen preparing for our Thanksgiving feast.  Travis made it home the day before Thanksgiving, so he was able to help with the cleaning and entertaining of the kids.  I've started going jogging/walking this month trying to get in better shape, and have really enjoyed it.  There is a loop around our neighborhood about 3 miles, and I listen to an audiobook while I'm out walking/jogging.  I can't jog the whole thing yet, but I hope to be able to soon.  I'm glad Travis is back now, we all missed him.  He had a bunch of little gifts he brought everyone, and it was fun to watch as he passed them all out, the kids loved it!  We did some black Friday shopping (online), and then Travis, the four little boys, and I went and picked out our Hawaiian Christmas Tree!  We loved the Norfolk pine trees they grow here.  We had fun decorating for Christmas, and did do a little Christmas shopping in the stores, while the girls went with their friends shopping and had a good time.

Going to Chaplain Conference, Travis' birthday and Halloween

Travis and I at the Roof Restaurant for his birthday dinner!

Receiving a painting from the artist of Elijah at conference

Dinner with good friends

I always loved going to the Salt Lake City temple, such wonderful history!

The boys sure love their Austin

Getting to see Marie Osmond in person was amazing!

Getting to see Alex Boye was pretty awesome too

I love it when they cuddle each other !

Getting ready for Halloween, as cat boy!

Gideon loves playing with play dough

So the big event in October, was that Travis and I got to go to Chaplain Conference together.  I wasn't going to go, but then a few weeks before the event, I felt inspired to try, and I'm so glad I did!  The kids didn't have school that week for fall break, so the older kids would all be home.  I talked to Betsy and Austin about taking turns being in charge for the day, and taking care of their younger brothers so that I could join Travis is Salt Lake City.  They agreed, (although offering to pay them, helped a ton)  I would be gone 5 nights and 6 days.  They haven't ever watched each other this long before, but we decided that we could make it work.  I arranged for Samuel to stay the week with friends, so they wouldn't have to worry about him, and made sure the neighbors were willing to help, and give the girls a break as needed.  I left Thursday evening (Oct 4th) and flew all night to SLC. Travis arrived the day before, so I took a shuttle to the hotel we were staying at, but he wouldn't answer his phone (he was asleep), so a security guard had to take me to his room, while I knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.  But he got up, and let me in the room.  I was ready for sleeping too, so I went to sleep for an hour or two (I didn't sleep well on the plane).  Then we met Travis' sister Maia and her husband Jaimie for lunch at red robin.  After lunch we went back to the hotel and got out temple stuff, and went to the Salt Lake temple for a session.  We went to the Friday night dinner for the Chaplain Conference kickoff, and had a nice time.  The speakers and food are always really good.  We got to talk with our good friends the Croaks, and we saw Travis' niece Alyssa, who was working with the cafeteria staff to provide our food.  I was able to get all the conference tickets I needed, (I registered late so I wasn't sure I would get the tickets or not).  Saturday and Sunday we went to all the sessions of general conference.  It was so amazing to be there, the spirit is always so strong! Saturday in between conference sessions Travis' got to meet John Bytheway and get a CD signed by him for Joseph, while I stood in line to get us food.  I got to go to the first Women's session held the during the conference weekend, instead of the week before.  I was able to get tickets for Maia, Nora, and Aleah, so it was nice to go with them.  Afterwards we met up with the guys and went to the roof restaurant, it is an expensive gourmet buffet restaurant, so we celebrated Travis' birthday.  Also while walking to and from conference session there is always this same guy protesting on the corner every year.  Travis always talks (debates) this him.  This year, he tried to invite him to come with us next year, and the guy declined, but every time we would walk by he would always treat us as friends.  It's amazing what a little kindness and welcoming attitude can do.  We also saw a homeless man on the side of the street with a wheelchair that had broken.  We stopped to help, and talked with him a bit.  A temple square worker was working on trying to get him a wheelchair.  Travis said a beautiful prayer for this man down on his luck, and we gave him $20 to help him get something he needs.  Sunday afternoon we went to Maia's house for dinner, and had a nice meal and was able to meet Anaya (Mayra's newest baby) and Travis was able to give both Maia and her husband beautiful priesthood blessings to help them with their struggles.  We were also able to give them some money ($120) to pass on to Travis' Dad.  I earned the money from playing at a funeral, but didn't feel good about keeping it, and felt like I should give it to Travis' Dad.  Monday started the Chaplain Conference portion, and we had a wonderful day listening to great speakers, and talking with good friends.  We went to Deseret Book and got some gifts for the kids.  We also had dinner with some good friends, which we rode an electric scooter too, that was an adventure!  While we were at the dinner, I got a call from Betsy saying the Gideon and Malachi were attacked by a chicken, and were really upset.  It turns our that they were chasing the chicken and it turned around and attacked them.  They mostly got upset, and scared, but Gideon did get pecked a little bit, but no broken skin.  I talked to them for a minute, and they were okay.  Tuesday was our last day, and we really enjoyed our time in Conference Session, again the spirit is so strong there.  When we were walking home, we saw our homeless friend on the  side of the road again.  We stopped to talk to him again, and when we saw he was still wearing hospital pants (he didn't have any of his own), we went into the department store and bought him a pair of pants.  I think the man reminded Travis a little bit of his own father, and felt a desire to help him.  We drove down to Provo and met my sister Cristin and her family at Dairy Queen and had dilly bars, it was nice to see them and talk with them for a little bit.  Then we went to Café Rio and had dinner, and then did some shopping at Winco for things to bring home to Hawaii.  We left the next morning and said farewell to the mainland again.  My flight left first, so Travis dropped me off.  I spent the day travelling, and had one layover, so Travis actually arrived in Hawaii before I did.  It was nice travelling by myself, much more relaxing, and I got to enjoy reading.  Travis was waiting for me when I got to the airport and we drove home and got to enjoy lots of hugs and kisses from the kids.  Austin and Betsy did a good job taking care of the kids, but got overwhelmed a lot and needed more breaks.  Six days was definitely too long, we decided to take the whole family to conference next year, and even booked a hotel.  Travis' birthday was the day after we got back, so we had an enjoyable birthday celebration and had cake and ice cream with him.   We enjoyed the rest of our fall break, and then the kids went back to school on Monday.  Another fun thing in October, was we got to go to an interfaith concert with Marie Osmond, some of her family, and Alex Boye, it was awesome!  Lots of different faiths sang songs, as well as the Osmonds.  It was very nice, and we were able to meet them and take pictures with them afterwards too.   Travis left the last week of October to go to a training in Louisiana for a month, so we were sad to see him go.  The kids had fun dressing up and going to the trunk or treat for the church and going trick or treating on Halloween.  I forgot to take pictures of them in costumes so sorry.  Trick or Treating starts here at 5pm, so I took the little boys, and ended up with two neighbor boys too, and Joseph.  We went for about 30 minutes, and the little ones were worn out, (it was hot out). So we came back to the house.  Gideon hadn't been feeling good, so I had been pushing him in the stroller, and he would get out at each house with his bucket and go get his candy and then climb back in the stroller.  He was really good at talking to everyone and getting lots of candy at each house.  He fell asleep on the floor of our living room clutching his candy bucket. Then the kids went out a couple more times with older siblings, and they ended up with tons of candy!!!   I wasn't very good and policing their candy this year, and they ended up eating way too much.  But they had fun..  

September, Birthday party, hikes, and submarine tours

Daddy wearing Joseph's glasses and being weird

Austin loves holding her sleeping Gideon

When Austin tries to leave, Gideon runs and blocks the door and tells her "no leaving"

Betsy's birthday party!

Betsy got a yummy cake!

Playing games with her friends!

The girls started all braiding each other's hair at Betsy's party.

Caleb made it all the way to the top of Koko Head hike with us!

Malachi and Gideon had fun going on a hike with me, they had fun

Caleb had a chuck e cheese night for school, Malachi was pretty excited about it too!

The view of the temple grounds is beautiful

Finally got to go to the Hawaii temple!  

Going on a submarine tour

So we finally had Betsy's birthday party, she is so lucky!  She got another cake, and got to have her friends over for games and fun.  She had a great time!  We got to explore the island a little more.  Caleb, Travis, and I hiked koko head.  It is basically climbing straight up and unending amount of stairs.  It was hard, but we made it up to the top!  Samuel went on the hike too, but with his pacific club group.  The view was breathtaking!  We also explored a few new beaches, our favorite being Waimea beach!  It has a big rock that the kids and Travis like to jump off of into the ocean.  The little boys loved playing in the sand, and it was a nice place for floating in the ocean.  I also enjoyed burying Samuel in the sand.  Travis and I got to go to the temple together, and it was really nice!  I love going to the temple, it is so peaceful.  Gideon and Malachi and I enjoyed a hike that we got pretty muddy on, but had free fruit!  There were these ripe strawberry guavas and the little boys loved picking them off the branches.  During the week we are pretty busy, but we love exploring the island on the weekends.  Joseph has been having a really hard time waking up and getting to seminary or school, he has been missing a lot of school and it is really affecting his grades.  The girls have both gotten tutoring jobs and are making a little money each week, which they like.  They are also getting babysitting jobs too.  Malachi is having a rough time with potty training, and keeps taking things and opening them up, and is having a hard time listening, he can be pretty frustrating, but is also very sweet and loving.  Gideon is being a typical 2 year old, who thinks he is in charge and bosses everyone around, throws temper tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants, and makes a lot of messes, but can also be absolutely adorable at times too!  Caleb has been taking piano lessons from me, and is enjoying it, and doing really well.  He is also really good at school and loves playing with new friends.  I've been going to PWOC and I'm on the praise and worship team, singing with the ladies, and playing the piano when the lady who usually plays is gone.  I've been going to the "shepherding a child's heart" bible study  and have really enjoyed it.

Moving in, Starting school, birthdays, anniversary, and hurricanes!!

Joseph climbing the tree near our house

Samuel approves of the climbing tree too!

Gideon can't climb too high, but he sure tries!

Travis put a swing in the tree for Gideon!

Gideon loves getting his toy truck back!

Malachi got a batman hoodie towel for his birthday from G and G Hardy

Caleb made Malachi this birthday crown all by himself, and it fit perfectly!

Malachi loves his birthday cake (Daddy is crazy)

First day of 6th grade!

1st day of 2nd grade

18th wedding anniversary dinner cruise!

Betsy 9th grade (she's in high school!)

Austin 10th grade 

Gideon loves hanging out on the couch with blankets and pillows

Gideon climbing on the rocks at a fun park

Gideon trying to feed the ducks, but the chickens want to be fed too!

Gideon and Malachi found a turtle!

The birds and ducks really like Gideon

Playing at the beach!

Samuel practicing his surfing!

Gideon gets really nervous about the waves, but with Daddy there he is all good!

Austin told Gideon she was going to leave for college in a couple years, and he said "no leaving" and kept grabbing her face and laying on top of her and not letting her go.  

Gideon does not want Austin to leave him

Gideon is obsessed with pillows!!  We ended up buying these to pillows for Gideon from Costco, and I was trying to find him one afternoon, and I finally found his leg sticking out from underneath his pillows and he was fast asleep!  

Betsy's birthday cake (don't worry she had two Costco cakes, this is just all that was left when we sang to her)

Austin helped Gideon push Joseph off the couch.  They were all pretty happy about it!

Daddy and Malachi building tall towers!

August was a very full month!!!  We moved in the first day of August.  It was a crazy weekend full of getting everything moved in.  We had movers from two different shipments dropping stuff off at the same time (I'm so glad Travis was there)  We had to check off the package numbers on a list that they would call out as they brought everything off the truck.  Then they had to put everything in the right room and unpack and put together all the things they took apart, which was everything!  They took apart everything the possibly could and put it all in little boxes when we moved out of Kansas.  We had some things damaged, and many things that were missing pieces, or that the guys couldn't figure out how to put together.  But overall it wasn't too bad.  We had to repair our expensive bikes, and just trash our "Walmart" bikes.  We had to buy a new bed frame and have a neighbor make us a new rail for our bunk bed.  The most annoying thing was having our freezer not work properly.  We got it to plug in and get cold, so we bought a bunch of freezer food and filled it up, only to have it stop working and not keep everything cold enough, then it would get cold again, then it stopped working completely again.  Needless to say, we ended up having to throw out a couple hundred dollars worth of food, and the moving company wouldn't give us anything to replace our freezer, since we couldn't prove that it worked properly before we left.  Anyway the kids loved exploring our neighborhood and finding all the climbing trees, and meeting all the kids in the neighborhood (there are a ton of them!)  Travis was able to get 10 days off to move us in, which was so nice!  We were able to get everything put away and set up mostly before he had to go back to work.  We also celebrated Malachi's birthday and had our anniversary. We went on a dinner cruise that was really nice, except I got a little motion sick, due to the rough water (storm coming) We had a couple hurricane scares, but nothing hit us directly.  We also had Betsy's birthday during one of the hurricane scares, and had to reschedule her party, and ended up having a McGyver marathon and ate her two cakes instead.  She didn't seem to mind too much.  The kids all started school (Caleb and up).  Everyone loved getting all their school supplies together and starting their new schools.  I think they have all adjusted well (except for Joseph) to their new schools, and seem to have good teachers and friends.  Our weeks our usually pretty busy now.  I started teaching piano lessons the 3rd week in August and currently have 13 students (the most I've ever had).  I keep telling people, that I'm full, but somehow end up adding more students anyway.  I love teaching though, it is just a little hard on Malachi and Gideon, but I've worked it out, so that their TV or kindles can only be used during piano lesson time, so now they want me to teach piano all the time!